All things are echoes of the Voice for God.
It should be evident to you by now that your senses do deceive you. And that there is massive amounts of false perception and bad communication in practically everything you do, see and hear.
It’s impossible to see the whole picture in any situation. Even if you followed me around all day long, listened to my conversations, watched the way I interact with people, witnessed the way I am, read every single blog entry I’ve ever written, read my old love letters, read my book, private journals, looked at my photo albums, watched how I cook a meal, how I drive my car, how I shop for groceries, how I talk on the phone, looked at my bookcase, my movie collection, my music CD’s, and how I interact with the cashiers at Walmart and the baristas at Starbucks, it’s still only a partial picture.
This is why judgment is impossible. You cannot possibly know what is going on at any given time with anyone, because everything is based on senses.
“You place pathetic faith in what your eyes and ears report.”
Knowing this, judgment becomes impossible.
You would be in state of acceptance, that everything is exactly the way it is, and nothing needs to be changed.
All things are echoes of the Voice for God.
The easiest simplest way to undo all that you have learned is to be willing to be wrong about everything. Let go of every idea that came before this moment. Wipe the slate clean. Open up your mind – ever so slightly – to see that maybe the situation did not happen the way you thought it happened. Maybe your judgment was based on partial evidence. Maybe what you thought was attack was actually a gift. Maybe the person who pisses you off actually has something important to tell you.
In my marriage I used to constantly react to things I heard and saw. I was a hot little firecracker, constantly exploding in emotional outbursts. One little word could wreck my whole day. Back then I used to break things. Then I would calm down and silently hold a grievance for weeks, and sometimes months. Then one day I realized that my body’s eyes and my body’s ears do not show me anything. They report nothing. They literally show me what is false.
Suddenly I saw clearly that my husband is my Friend and Savior. He’s here to help me, he’s me, and I constructed a story in which I was the victim.
Oooooooooooooooooooooops.
Knowing this, how could you judge anything anymore?
How could you be upset anymore?
If you were wrong and the situation did NOT happen the way you thought it happened … how could you hold a grievance?
How could you stay angry?
You would see your childish antics for what they are, and then you would laugh like crazy.
As a practice, I started to pause a moment before reacting. I would stop. I wouldn’t smash the water glass. I wouldn’t start yelling. I would pause. I would stand still. I would ask to see this situation/person differently. I would ask for Christ vision. From here, it is the easiest thing in the world to give the thought to God and ask Him to purify it.
“And as each thought is thus transformed, it takes on healing power from the Mind which saw the truth in it, and failed to be deceived by what was falsely added. All threads of fantasy are gone. And what remains is unified into a perfect Thought that offers its perfection everywhere.”
Gorgeous for God was born from this idea, as a 3-word phrase in my mind to help me to remember to pause a moment and let my thoughts be purified by God.
from the Introduction:
When I first started Gorgeous for God my idea was to “inspire and motivate individuals to be as God created them … perfect.” I knew my own life had been transformed by A Course in Miracles and I also knew that many people (myself included) were turned away by religion. I had an idea that people would return to God if He became contemporary and practical. Not something based on old outdated rules that old strict men had passed down for centuries. What could be more exciting than knowing that you could change any aspect of your life simply by changing your mind?
When I returned to my own innocence, it was not just a nice idea in my head, it was a real experience. I would look in the mirror and be blown away by my reflection staring back at me. HOW and WHEN did I get so beautiful? How? When? My whole body was transformed. Literally and Physically.
I never thought I was pretty. Growing up I always compared myself to other people. I compared myself to models in magazines. I compared myself to people in movies and on television. I was never good enough. I was always too fat. I was constantly on a diet. I was always thinking “someday”. But there was always someone better than me. “Someday” never seemed to arrive. I kept striving to make my body better.
“If only I was thin and beautiful” was the soundtrack playing in my brain.
If only I was thin and beautiful, I would get the love and attention I desire. If only I was thin and beautiful, people would pay attention to me and listen to what I have to say. If only. If only. If only.
But then I got thin and beautiful, and nothing changed. I didn’t get the love I desired. I didn’t get the attention I craved. I still felt lonely. I still felt afraid. I still felt worthless.
Around this time is when “Gorgeous for God” popped in my mind. I decided instead of trying to change my body (which I had been trying to do, unsuccessfully, for 30 years) I would simply be Gorgeous every day. I would focus on qualities like INNOCENCE, GRACE, BEAUTY, PATIENCE, HONESTY, GENEROSITY, JOY and HAPPINESS.
Gorgeous for God began, really, because I needed a constant reminder of my own function in the world. It began as 3-simple-words, a phrase in my mind, to help me remember my purpose on earth. I was constantly forgetting that I’m the light of the world. I was forever getting sidetracked, forgetting that I’m here to represent God.
I am here only to be truly helpful. I am here to represent Him who sent me.
I would momentarily forget that I am spirit, and these moments (of being a contained limited human being) would sometimes extend into days and weeks. This is the real reason I started Gorgeous for God … as a way for me to REMEMBER and NOT FORGET.
Every time I would begin to judge something, I would remember: Gorgeous for God.
Every time I would start to gossip, I would remember: Gorgeous for God.
Every time I wanted to hold onto a grievance, I would remember: Gorgeous for God.
Every time I would begin to defend myself, I would remember: Gorgeous for God.
Every sigh and frown was replaced by my own self-imposed constant reminder: Gorgeous for God.
I couldn’t get away from it. Every day GORGEOUS FOR GOD was staring me in the face. I definitely didn’t feel Gorgeous in the beginning but here is a proven method that works: “FAKE IT TILL YOU MAKE IT.”
Act gorgeous and you will become gorgeous. Act perfect and you will become perfect. It’s no coincidence that things began to change for me. I actually started to look better. I began to feel better. I could feel life creeping back into my body. THE LIGHT DOES THE WORK. It makes you look good.
How do we begin to change the world standard? I have no idea. I suppose it would start with a few good role models. People who would say, “I’m going to be myself” and let this be enough.
It starts with me. To demonstrate that I am good enough. Not later, but now. I am whole and perfect as God created me. There is nothing physical that needs changing or improving.
There is only your own recognition of what is already true.
All things are echoes of the Voice for God.
Dear Lisa,
Wow to look at 3 words and not know what they mean has turned out to be a blessing. To look at them and not be able to have a concept about them.. Hey God I have run out of all my own ideas.. that is what happened the first time I read “Gorgeous For God”. What does that mean I thought? And then I let go. And there it is a moment later in the blog. I am standing in a place of not knowing more and more.. Thankyou God for showing me I never did know anything..